Forgetting to Pray for His Pursuers
Woken from sleep by a forgotten nightly practice, the Yehudi cried out in worry for the very men who were slandering him.
A story ofRav Yaakov Yitzchok Rabinowitz of Peshischaהרב יעקב יצחק בן אשר מפשיסחאProfile ›
It is told that the Yehudi had a custom before he went to sleep each night. He would offer a prayer of redemption on behalf of those who pursued him and spoke against him, asking that no harm come to them because of what they had said about him.
In those years the opposition was real. Some of the Chozeh's followers could not accept the new path of Peshischa, and they spoke sharply against the Yehudi. Still, every night he reached for the same prayer, and asked Heaven to leave them unpunished.
One night he woke suddenly, and a thought gripped him. He had gone to sleep without saying it. 'I forgot to make the redemption on behalf of my pursuers,' he said aloud, with real distress in his voice.
Chassidim relate that on that very night one of the men who slandered the Rebbe of Lublin was struck by a sudden bleeding from the throat. He ran to the Rebbe for help, but it could not be undone.
The tale is told as a warning about the weight of words. It also shows how a tzaddik protected, even from afar and even in sleep, the very people who spoke against him.
Source: Kesser Hayehudi, section 1 (Crown of the Yehudi); also in Yitzchak Raphael, Sefer Hachassidus: Me'ah Tzaddikim (Tel Aviv, 1961).
Think of one person who has spoken against you, or who simply makes your life harder. Tonight, before you go to sleep, say one honest sentence for them: that they should have health, peace and a good year. You do not have to feel warm toward them, and you do not have to be in touch. Simply put them on the list of people you ask Hashem to look after. Notice how it changes the weight you carry. If it feels hard, begin with only one night this week.